Ornamental railing terminal



Dec. 5, 1967 L, BLUM ETAL 3,356,392

ORNAMENTAL RAILING TERMINAL Filed Dec. 13, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTORS.

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L. BLUM ETAL Dec. 5, 1967 ORNAMENTAL RAILING TERMINAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Dec. 13, 1965 INVENTORS. 01113 5111177 1. By Wil/l//IJ/YalyqJz:62d) f @A A TTU/WYE YS.

United States Patent i 3,356,392 CRNAMENTAL RAILING TERMINAL Louis Blumand William J. Horgan, Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa., assignors to Blumcraft ofPittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa.,

a firm Filed Dec. 13, 1965, Ser. No. 513,277 3 Claims. (Cl. 287-20324)This invention relates to a terminal piece for an orna mental handrailand more particularly to a movable terminal piece for woodenhandrailings.

Wooden handrailings have been known for many years in the art ofornamental railings. More recently, however, wood handrails have becomeuseful in specialized rai.- ings of a very attractive ornamentalcharacter. It is highly desirable in such railings that the terminalportions thereof be capped with a metal terminal piece for two reasons.First, to provide protection for the end of the handrailing andtoprovide a rigid durable cover for the grain of the wood; and,secondly, to highlight and ornament the handrailing itself. Both ofthese objectives are achieved by ornamental metal terminal pieces.

One of the problems that arises from the combination of wood and metalin handrailings is the different rate of expansion of these pieces undercertain conditions. For instance, the metal tends to expand a greateramount under heat, and under certain conditions of moisture the woodtends to expand. The most serious and by far the most common problem isthat which results from the tendency of the wood to shrink slightly overa period of time due to dehydration. This tends to leave a gap betweenthe metal terminal piece and the wooden handrailing.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide a decorative metalend piece for a wooden handrail which will adhere to the handrail evenunder conditions oi shrinkage of the wooden portion of the handrail.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a -metal terminalportion for a wooden ornamental handrailing which will permit the woodenportion of the bandi-ailing to expand without excessive compression ofthe wood.

The foregoing objects and other advantages are obtained by means of thestructure which is illustrated in the drawings and described in thefollowing specification in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view showing a post and handrailingconnection with a metal terminal piece on a wooden handrailing;

FIG. 2 is a partial plan View of the terminal portion of the handrailingof FIG. l taken from the position oi the line II-II of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along the line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional View along the line IV-IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a partial exploded view of the metal terminal piece andhandrailing made in accordance with the invention illustrating theworking parts;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing another embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 7 is a partial plan View of the end portion of the hand railing ofFIG. 6 taken from the line VII-VI] of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a partial exploded view illustrating the metal terminal pieceof FIG. 6 and a portion of the handrail illustrating the working partsthereof.

In FIG. 1 the post 10 is mounted thereon a handrailing 11 with a metalterminal piece 12, The handrailing is connected to the post by means ofconnecting bracket 13.

3,355,392 Patented Dec. 5, 1967 ICC As shown in FIG. 4 the handrailcomprises a wooden portion 14 and a metal portion 15. The terminal pieceis connected to the handrail 11 through the metallic portion 15. Themetallic portion 15 of the handrail 11 is connected to the wooden partby means of screw 16. The

' metal portion 15 has an undercut T-slot located centrally thereof andrunning longitudinally of the handrailing.

The T-slot has a head portion 17 and a stem portion 18. The metallicmember 15 is also provided with spaced openings 19 as shown in FIG. 5.

The terminal piece 12 is shaped to correspond to the cross-section ofthe handrail 11. It is provided with two dowel pins 20 adapted to fitthe openings 19 in the metallic portion 15 of handrail 11. There is alsoa threaded hole 21 tapped into the inner face of the terminal piece 12.The connection between the terminal piece 12 and the handrail 11effected by a at member 22 which fits within the head portion 17 of theT-slot in the handrail and is rigidly aixed thereto by means of thescrews 23 and by a spacer member 24 connected thereto. With the fiatmember 22 and the spacer block 24 in the position as illustrated in FIG.3 tension bolt 25 is inserted through the opening 26 in spacer block 24and into the threaded opening 21 in the terminal piece 12. The terminalpiece 12 is maintained against the spacer block 24 by'virtue of the coilspring 27 disposed about the shaft of screw 25. The tension of thespring 27 is varied by adjusting the position of the bolt 25 in thethreaded opening 21. The tension may be changed by rotating the bolt 25in position as shown in FIG. 3.

In actual use, the handrailing is assembled with the terminal piece 12in place. The tension is adjusted on the coil screw 27 by rotating bolt25. The tension may be adjusted depending upon the atmosphericconditions at the situs of the handrailing. If there are any changes inthese conditions or if there is any unusual shrinkage or expansion thetension on the coil spring 27 may be changed to meet the changedconditions.

In FIG. 6 the post 30 supports handrail 31 having metal terminal piece32 by means of connecting bracket 33, In this embodiment of theinvention the handrail 31 comprises a wooden exterior 34 bonded to ametal frame ccmprising two interlocked pieces 35 and 36. The metalpieces 35 and 36 are joined by means of bolt 37 and form a rectangularelongated opening through the handrail 31. The metal terminal piece 32is provided with dowel pins 40 which t in openings 39 in the woodenportions of the handrail 31. A spacing block 44 is inserted in therectangular opening in the metallic portion of the handrail 31 and isconnected to the terminal piece 32 by means of threaded bolts 45 whichpass through the openings 45 in spacer block 44 and into threadedopenings 41 tapped in the inner face of the terminal piece 42. Theterminal piece 42 is held in position against the end of the handrail 31by means of the bolts 45 acting under tension of the coil spring 47 andthe spacer block 44 is in turn rigidly held in place within the openingin the handrail 41 by means of the set screw 50 which passes throughthreaded opening 51 of the handrail 31. An ornamental cap 53 held inplace by a set screw 54 is provided to cover the end of the handrail 31.

When the terminal piece 42 is in place held under the tension of thecoil spring 47 it is permitted to move outwardly in the event ofexpansion of the wooden portion of the handrail 31.

What is claimed is:

1. A terminal piece for an ornamental handrail c-omprising a receivingmember atixed to the handrail and forming a part thereof, said memberincluding channel means for receiving a spacer block, an end cap shapedto conform to the end of said handrail, a spacer block removably mountedin said channel means having an elongated portion substantially parallelthereto, and having 3 4 an opening extending substantially parallel tosaid channel by the fact that the channel means comprises an enclosedtherethrough, -bolt means passing through said opening polygonalchannel. and threadably engaging said end cap and spring means disposedbetween said bolt means and the elongated por- References Cited tion ofthe spacer block surrounding said opening urging 5 UNITED STATES PATENTSsaid end cap longitudinally into flush engagement with the end of saidhandrail. l

2. The terminal piece of claim 1 further characterized n by the factthat the channel means comprises a T-shaped EDWARD C- ALLEN PnmaryExamme" Channel- 10 W. L. SHEDD,AssstantExamner.

3. The terminal piece of claim 1 further characterized 2,873,095 2/1959Blum 256-65

1. A TERMINAL PIECE FOR AN ORNAMENTAL HANDRAIL COMPRISING A RECEIVINGMEMBER AFFIXED TO THE HANDRAIL AND FORMING A PART THEREOF, SAID MEMBERINCLUDING CHANNEL MEANS FOR RECEIVING A SPACER BLOCK, AN END CAP SHAPEDTO CONFORM TO THE END OF SAID HANDRAIL, A SPACER BLOCK REMOVABLY MOUNTEDIN SAID CHANNEL MEANS HAVING AN ELONGATED PORTION SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLELTHERETO, AND HAVING AN OPENING EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAIDCHANNEL THERETHROUGH, BOLT MEANS PASSING THROUGH SAID OPENING ANDTHREADABLY ENGAGING SAID END CAP AND SPRING MEANS DISPOSED BETWEEN SAIDBOLT MEANS AND THE ELONGATED PORTION OF THE SPACER BLOCK SURROUNDINGSAID OPENING URGING SAID END CAP LONGITUDINALLY INTO FLUSH ENGAGEMENTWITH THE END OFF SAID HANDRAIL.